Stark contrast

[Bicycle]

I rode with favourite daughter from Herefordshire to Trafalgar Square on Saturday for a charity she's supporting.

It's the furthest she's been in a day and was a lovely ride. We were lucky with the weather and the traffic.

I've ridden a lot in the sticks and in London, but there was something new in this latest ride:

1. My companion had done very little big-city riding.

2. We saw the whole menu in one day, from early-morning Hereford lanes to Uxbridge Road in a shopping frenzy.

What struck my daughter the most (and me too once she's mentioned it) was the extraordinary contrast between rural riding and urban riding.

I usually love both, but rarely do both so intensively in a single day. I expect I'll still love urban riding in the future but on Saturday, Hillingdon to Bayswater was a bleak experience.

I fear I may be stating the obvious here, but it has never hit me so hard.... The two disciplines are as different as fresh tarmac and the Brecon Beacons.

I wanted to hop off the fixie I was using and onto an urban-commando, slick-tyred, fork-locked killer HT when we got into the smoke.... but no such was available at the time.

Does anyone regularly ride from leafy lanes to urban chaos?

Am I being too romantic about the difference or am I just getting middle-aged?

Also, favourite daughter said that London is more bike-friendly than Paris (where she has ridden a bit). I disagree 100%. I think Paris is totally bike-friendly and London is a shark pool, albeit a lovely one where I love to ride. Who is right?

 

[apollo179]

Did favourite daughter stop off to buy herself a bargain price sari or punjabi suit. Or indeed did you trear yourself to a nice kurta pyjama.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I rode with favourite daughter from Herefordshire to Trafalgar Square on Saturday for a charity she's supporting.

It's the furthest she's been in a day and was a lovely ride. We were lucky with the weather and the traffic.

I've ridden a lot in the sticks and in London, but there was something new in this latest ride:

1. My companion had done very little big-city riding.

2. We saw the whole menu in one day, from early-morning Hereford lanes to Uxbridge Road in a shopping frenzy.

What struck my daughter the most (and me too once she's mentioned it) was the extraordinary contrast between rural riding and urban riding.

I usually love both, but rarely do both so intensively in a single day. I expect I'll still love urban riding in the future but on Saturday, Hillingdon to Bayswater was a bleak experience.

I fear I may be stating the obvious here, but it has never hit me so hard.... The two disciplines are as different as fresh tarmac and the Brecon Beacons.

I wanted to hop off the fixie I was using and onto an urban-commando, slick-tyred, fork-locked killer HT when we got into the smoke.... but no such was available at the time.

Does anyone regularly ride from leafy lanes to urban chaos?

Am I being too romantic about the difference or am I just getting middle-aged?

Also, favourite daughter said that London is more bike-friendly than Paris (where she has ridden a bit). I disagree 100%. I think Paris is totally bike-friendly and London is a shark pool, albeit a lovely one where I love to ride. Who is right?

I guess it depends on what you enjoy about riding. My step father used to love driving in London where as I hated it. I would rather ride on quite roads or off road but I will ride in cities if the need arises.

 

[gaz]

I live minutes away from quite country lanes and also minutes away from the busy streets of London.

The stopping and starting of city riding is annoying but I dislike not being able to see what is around the corner in narrow country lanes.
They both have there ups and downs.

 

[Moodyman]

Like Gaz, both have their ups and downs.

I find the rural roads relaxing, but don't like the narrow lanes, blind bends and fast cars.

The rush hour urban ride gives a great adrenalin rush, but doing it 5 days a week can be mentally exhausting.

Still...both beat driving.

 

[arallsopp]

I live near Gaz, caught between a green belt that extends most of the way to the south coast, and an urban deathmatch that reaches about 30 miles north. I ride both pretty regularly.

The urban stuff isn't that much fun, but its my commute so I don't really do it for enjoyment. As Moodyman says, its better than a car. Although the risks are plentiful, you can generally see them coming before they develop. Nothing I've found has the diversity of sights and sounds that the city offers. On a sunny weekend, it can be fantastic.

The rural stuff can be brilliant once it opens out. The blind bends however are always going to be a problem (particularly on a low bike like mine). Generally the potential incidents per mile are considerably lower, but my ability to defend against them lots worse. On open ground, its lovely though. Long sweeping turns. Horses in fields. Quiet pubs. Mmmmm....

Pick your route, and you can get the best of both worlds.

Andy.

 

[Glover Fan]

I live just outside bristol and I never cycle in bristol. Did it once and hated it.